{"id":23547,"date":"2026-08-31T06:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.johnremus.com\/blog\/?p=23547"},"modified":"2026-08-31T06:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T14:59:16","slug":"the-inaugural-redding-half-ironman-northern-california-70-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnremus.com\/blog\/the-inaugural-redding-half-ironman-northern-california-70-3\/","title":{"rendered":"The Inaugural Redding Half Ironman “Northern California 70.3”"},"content":{"rendered":"

I would have never thought I’d drive up to Redding to race.<\/p>\n

And I would not have thought back when I signed up – specifically because I thought it would be an incredibly difficult, 100+ degree, day of misery in the heat and hills – that I would have such a great time.<\/p>\n

You don’t need to go race the Northern California 70.3 for the course. You should go race the Redding<\/em> Half Ironman for Redding and the people who made this race incredible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I can’t speak highly enough of this event. It blew away all my expectations for a half iron distance event that “fit into my workouts for the Sacramento Full in October”. That was the other half of the reason I signed up. The first was “well that sounds like it’ll be brutally hard and hot… honestly sounds like it could be miserable. I’m in!”<\/p>\n

But Redding surpassed every expectation I’ve had about how great an inaugural half distance event could be. They all but did the pedaling for you, or carried you along the run, during the event. hahaha!
\nLeading up to the event I did start to see the usual posts online with some locals already complaining about road closures and redirects going on during the race. And I shrugged it off as “people always have to complain about something”. And I also pointed out that I hoped this wouldn’t turn into “another Morro Bay 70.3” where a new West Coast location starts and dies from a combination of loud NIMBYs and potentially rough weather.<\/p>\n

But those posters were quickly ratio’d on social by other locals who were thrilled about the upcoming event.<\/p>\n

Arriving in Redding at our hotel on Friday afternoon we were immediately greeted by a huge sign in the lobby and fliers on the counter. Around the Iron Village were tons of signs, of course. And that night at dinner Downtown was decorated and setup for a huge welcome party for all the athletes and guests! It was so much fun.<\/p>\n

But let’s get to the race report..<\/p>\n

Overall Target – 6:30 to 7:00<\/h2>\n

This race was somewhat of an impulse signup “because it fit in with my Iron California training”.<\/p>\n

So, when it came to figuring out exactly where I thought I might be in training and fitness, and where I thought I might finish… it was anyone’s guess.
\nBut going sub-7 I figured was certain, and honestly if I went slower I would have been upset. That includes racing in the expected heat.<\/p>\n

I prepped for a brutally hot race day.. and got a bit of reprieve\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I also signed up for Redding\u00a0because of the heat<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I knew it was supposed to be incredibly hot, and possibly one of the harder Iron races now on the calendar due to the location and time of year. I was 100% down for the challenge.<\/strong>
\nThe last month here in SoCal we’ve been having a record heatwave. I took every opportunity to run in the hot weather to prepare for the heat on the race course. That was 6 mile runs after work during the week on the hot cement of the rivers, and 12+ mile runs on the weekend for my long workouts.
\nFor the bike portion I’m not close enough to hills to train those conveniently. So I downloaded and road the digital course on my bike trainer several times during my lead up to this event. It worked really well for me training up to Hawaii last year. So I was certain it would help with Redding.
\nFor swimming… pool work. Every scheduled workout I made sure I hit, most of them are 515am at the gym before work. Tiring to get up that early, but the pool is\u00a0mostly<\/em> empty at that time of the morning.<\/p>\n

Bus to the Start Line<\/h2>\n

Because this was a point to point race, which included road closures on the main road to the lake, we would be required to take a bus race morning.<\/p>\n

They also just told everyone straight up “Just don’t go to the start to see your racer. You will have to wait until the\u00a0last<\/em> racer is out on the bike before the busses will start running again to bring you back to the Village. You are better off driving to somewhere on the bike course and cheer them on from that spot. The busses will also prioritize Athletes over everyone else that morning.”<\/p>\n

My family ditched me. And in a first for me, personally, I had no one with me at the start.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Race Day started early and Kellie and my Dad drove with me to Ironman Village for drop off (so they could take my car back with them and I wouldn’t have to worry about leaving my keys in my Morning Bag to track down later.
\nThe traffic backed up on the highway a bit for the exit to the Village, but they had police directing traffic at the exit to funnel people quickly into the parking lots. I was dropped near-ish to Village for a short walk to the busses.<\/p>\n

Once at the bus line they were (loudly) directing people into two lines right away. “Athletes this way! Spectators THAT line!” Extremely effective and they were loading Athletes up FAST and getting us out of there.
\nThe road closures were already happening on the main highway to the lake and\u00a0the police were prioritizing and escorting the busses to the start.\u00a0<\/strong>Incredible move by the police and I’m positive this sped up the entire process of getting people to the start.<\/p>\n

Swim<\/h2>\n

Projected Time: Around 40min
\n“Good day” time: 38-40 minutes – average pace I was expecting after zero open water training this time
\nActual official clock time: 48:44 (absolutely terrible swim for me)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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That swim was terrible.<\/p>\n

I was really expecting my swim to be much better than it was. The water was fairly clear-ish, and a freshwater lake.
\nBut ho.ly.shit was it hot. Race day temp was 78.1. GROSS.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I realized while swimming in this very warm water that I don’t think I like swimming in warm water. lol.
\nThere was the usual bumping and splashing. A brief moment choking on water as someone splashed by me. And I spent a lot of the swim feeling my swim skin\/tri suit cutting into my skin near my shoulder blades near my armpit where the material binds slightly from your swim stroke. It.was.miserable.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah, then sighted wrong after the turn. First time ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n

See the the main turn around section on the map above? At the turn you’re headed directly into the sun and you can’t see anything at all. It’s only 100 yards or so. Honestly if they could set up a 100 yard buoy rope, that would be amazing for the athletes next year. I saw in online comments that I was not the only person that misread the buoys and went off course. A kayaker had to come correct me.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the swim was terrible for me. Nearly 10 minutes slower than I expected to go. A course correction. Weird warm water that I’m def not used to.
\nIn hindsight, I should have just swam it in my trisuit alone, like I did when I raced Puerto Rico. I would have been more comfortable than I was in my swim skin.<\/p>\n

But I will say, prior to the start and standing there hanging out with everyone was a blast as always. The sheer amount of first-timers out there was so cool. And then there were people like me and a 60ish year old woman next to me who have done lots of races and had lots of things to chat about with the new racers. I specifically remember one guy, probably in his 30s, who was a total chatterbox. I’m guessing it was nervousness about his first ever triathlon. I wish I had got his bib number to followup and see how he did. Oh well.<\/p>\n

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But it was definitely a beautiful morning and great swim start. Now if only the water was like 10 degrees colder. ha!<\/p>\n

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This is one of the first events that my family wasn’t there at the start of the race, and exit of the water due to the bus situation. Definitely a bit strange, honestly. I’ve been spoiled to always have support at my events.<\/p>\n

T1<\/h2>\n

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I had a 6 minute Transition that felt much longer. I honestly do think the swim really threw me off in my head.
\nI kept feeling like I was taking forever to get my socks on and situate things like my bandana and helmet. I also managed to skip using the bathroom before my bike start. As I passed them some volunteers were running the other direction between me and the bathrooms so I just… kept… going? to the start line?<\/p>\n

As soon as I crossed to start the bike I was thinking “why the hell did I skip the bathroom break?” hahaha! I mention this solely because it was on my mind the entire bike ride cuz I actually\u00a0did<\/em> have to use the restroom. And I’m not<\/strong> a person who pees on my bike. Oh well. T2 is only 56 miles away!<\/p>\n

Bike<\/h2>\n

Projected Time: 3hr 45min
\n“Good day” time: anything under 3:30
\nActual official clock time: 2:55:43 – ZOOM ZOOM!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I had an awesome bike – way better than I expected going in the event.<\/p>\n

I rode the course on my digital trainer to give myself the best chance at preparing for hills of this course. I live in a very flat area of SoCal, so getting to the mountains just to train is not really economical with the limited free time I have. But riding the digital course on my smart trainer still does an excellent job at prepping for “ok there are hard climbs here, here, and here” for an upcoming event.<\/p>\n

The full digital course took me around 3:45. So I figured if I do that on the course on race day that would be a win. But I also pointed out to Kellie that I raced Hawaii 20 minutes faster than I did the course on the trainer. There is still the huge variable of gravity in real life. Ha! The trainer requires you to pedal\u00a0constantly<\/em>, and a course like this with tons of downhill will allow a lot more coasting, speed, as well as relief for your legs in general throughout the miles.<\/p>\n

Turning out on the first stretch opens to a longgg climb out of the valley that the lake is in. I talked about this with J when we went to drop my bike. This would be a “take it easy and warm up for the day ahead” five miles or so.
\nAfter that was a huge downhill where I topped out at nearly 43 mph.
\nThe hardest part of any of this course were the turns, and that was due to the amount of less experienced cyclists on the course<\/em>. Lots of people slowing wayyy down, taking the turn veryyy wide, and then cutting it really sharp. It made it very difficult to judge where people were going. And this course has quite a few very sharp turns as well. There are\u00a0hairpin turns at miles 11 and 29<\/strong> that you need to slow way down for, and there was also a bit of sand\/gravel on those corners from the amount of bike traffic. I’m positive that Redding will be all over that and have sweepers on the ready next year though.<\/p>\n

The amount of support on this bike ride was incredible<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think I shouted “Good Morning!” close to 300 times during the bike. There were SO many people out in their yards and driveways along the course to cheer on the riders and support the event. It was truly incredible to see how much of the city came out to just hang out and watch and cheer. I made it a point to try and acknowledge everyone I saw.
\nEven in the last several miles of the course there was an area we passed that I\u00a0think<\/em> was an elderly care facility and a large group of older folks were out in their chairs and walkers clapping for the racers!<\/p>\n

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No super cool photo of me in aero position on this course. My fault because I was sitting up and waving to the camera guy<\/p>\n

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Finishing the bike I still felt pretty strong. Maybe the slightest twinge in my legs – which didn’t shock me since I knew I was flying through the course much faster than planned. Garmin put me at an 84% Stamina Potential at the start and at 39% at the finish.
\nBut I was damn proud of my high average speed and watts beyond what I went into the race thinking I was ready for that day.<\/p>\n

T2<\/h2>\n

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Approaching T2 came up MUCH faster than I expected.
\nYou come over the highway overpass and are on a very slight downhill, so I was ready to ride\/coast much further as the route curved. Then suddenly you have people yelling “SLOW DOWN! DISMOUNT HERE!”. But again, I’m positive next year they’ll correct this with a couple signs and people flagging you to slow down.<\/p>\n

The paddock was already feeling hot in the direct sun on the grass. A preview of the run ahead.<\/p>\n

Oh and I finally got to use the bathroom. Thank god. hahahaha<\/p>\n

Run<\/h2>\n

Projected Time: 2:20 or so
\n“Good day” time: 2:20
\nActual official clock time: 2:37:17<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The run at the Redding Half was amazing, really a great course.
\nYou start out running over the Sundial Bridge before heading into the foothills for a 2 mile loop (approx.). Then you’re back running along the river before turning around to come back, cross the bridge again, and do it all one more time. The map looks confusing, but when you’re out there on the course, it actually makes perfect sense and there’s no confusion at all as an athelete.<\/p>\n

Tons of support on this course along the river. The loop in the foothills has support stations, and is certainly hotter than the other parts of the course. But mannnn, the river course is really great.<\/p>\n

You pass along multiple parks. All of them full of people, aid stations, volunteers, and locals out cheering you on.
\nI’m positive many of the people I saw were not official volunteers, but just locals out supporting and having a blast yelling, cheering, and throwing water on everyone!<\/p>\n

The aid stations were packed with plenty of water, ice, and other items. They also had plastic bins on tables full of water and ice for you to dunk your arms, hands, hat\/bandana, or even face in if you really wanted to. Those were incredibly helpful. I used them to dunk my arms many times just help stay cool.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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I had prepared for a hot race day. but about four miles in I could feel my legs start to cramp up. I didn’t take in nearly enough salt during the bike ride to prep myself for the run.
\nAnd I knew I was going to pay for it in those last 10 miles. I tried to take in electrolytes at the aid stations as often as I could without filling my stomach with liquids to a point of discomfort. So I was annoyed with myself for leaving my salt at my bike when I emptied my pockets.<\/p>\n

Looking at my Stamina in Garmin I zeroed out around mile 8.. and that tracks with about how I felt on the course. I remember thinking “I think my legs are about done running”.. I didn’t feel\u00a0bad<\/em>, per say. I just felt like doing a jog\/walk like I was doing at that moment would be how I would be wrapping that race up.<\/p>\n

It was not the stronger run I felt I was capable of. And I was frustrated I would have a slower run time than I planned. But I also reminded myself that my fast bike ride was still putting me ahead of where I thought I might be that day.<\/p>\n

But oh man, the SUPPORT DURING THIS RACE.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It really did make everything amazing. I saw the Mayor running the opposite direction of me, twice. He had entered as a relay with others to do the inaugural Redding Half Iron. Amazing.
\nThe little kids cheering and helping and having a great time.
\nThe speed at which I saw two people, who were throwing up due to heat, receive aid on the course from others.<\/p>\n

It felt like every part of the course was covered with cheering locals. Amazing.<\/p>\n

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The finish chute involved running around a building first. Honestly since that was all on flat land I was cruisin’ and felt pretty good again, lol.<\/p>\n

I also didn’t realize how close I was to a 6:30 finish. I think I would have found the speed to beat that if I had been paying better attention the last two miles.<\/p>\n

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Finished Time: 6:32:25<\/strong><\/p>\n

Officially I was 42 of 94 in my age group for Men. There were 11 DNFs, and 1 DNS in my group
\nAnd 422 out of 810 All Men.
\nAnd 535 out of 1,121 racers.<\/p>\n

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The finish line was just as bright out and hot out as this photo looks.
\nI was fortunate that I finished around 1:20 in the afternoon.. which was also about 45 minutes before the temperature peaked for the day around 97.<\/p>\n